A Close Connection between the Disciplines of Industrial Organization and Finance: A Worthy Objective or a Bridge Too Far?

Abstract

Periodically the question of whether there ought to be a substantially closer connection between the disciplines of industrial organization (IO) and finance has been a topic of conversation within the IO discipline. After documenting three such initiatives that ultimately failed to have lasting effects, this article argues that a goal of a close interweaving of IO and finance is a chimera – but that more modest interactions have been and continue to be possible.